Bitcoin, the most popular cryptocurrency, hit a nine-month high on Tuesday, ignoring investor panic following the collapse of US bank SVB.
Bitcoin, born in 2008, has caught up the $26,300, a level not seen since June. Up to 30% from Friday. Its all-time high was at the end of 2021, when it reached $68,992.
The increase on Tuesday was driven by inflation data in the United States, which slowed and reached 6% on an annual basis, its lowest level in nearly a year and a half.
But the cryptocurrency also benefited from Sunday’s Federal Reserve (Fed) decisions to protect SVB depositors.
the bitcoin it came from falling below US$20,000 on Friday, breaking that barrier for the first time since January and racking up a nearly 11% loss over the past seven days.
The drop has been framed within a general collapse of the markets. Cryptocurrencies do not escape – like other risky assets such as stocks – fears about the monetary policy that the Federal Reserve (FED) will adopt.
Even if at the beginning of the years it was taken for granted that the Fed would close this month with rate hikes – which began a year ago – leaving them in a range between 4.75% and 5%; recent economic data suggest so inflationary pressures have not abated.
This could force the Fed to keep raising rates for longer, favoring assets such as treasuries at the expense of others such as stocks and cryptocurrencies.
But cryptocurrencies are also facing increasing scrutiny from regulators.
New York State Regulator Sues Cryptocurrency Platform KuCoin, Listing Ethereum as a financial value.
Position shared by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): consider cryptocurrencies as “financial securities” it would be equivalent – in regulatory terms – to other traditional assets such as bonds and stocks.
Even the loss of reputation and trust in cryptocurrencies doesn’t help.
Source: Clarin
